Nurses revolt at 'derisory' 2p an hour pay rise

Nurses were in revolt after the Department of Health said they should get a pay rise worth just 2p an hour.

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt called for doctors, nurses and midwives to stomach a 1.5 per cent pay rise - less than half the rate of inflation.

Nursing leaders denounced tha plans as a 'slap in the face for medical staff' and claimed that the 'derisory' sum would effectively amount to a pay cut.

The payout would mean just 2p extra an hour for a newly qualified nurse or paramedic.

Insiders warned that strike action would be the 'only option' if they do not get more money.

MPs last night accused the Health Secretary of sacrificing NHS staff because the Government has not got a grip on the NHS budget.

The Health Service is already reeling from hospital deficits totalling more than £800bn this year, on top of billion pound black hole from last year. Medical staff have been hit by 20,000 job losses.

Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: 'Patricia Hewitt is continuing to try to make NHS staff now pay for the consequences of the Government's financial mismanagement and the £1.3 billion deficits from last year.'

Beverly Malone, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: 'This is a massive pay cut for nurses living in the real world where prices rise and inflation bites. This is a slap in the face for nurses whose commitment and dedication have helped bring down waiting times and improved patient care.'

The British Medical Association demanded a four per cent pay rise for doctors.

The 1.5 per cent raise is contained in the Department of Health's submission to the Pay Review Body which decides NHS salaries.

Patricia Hewitt used the document to warn that any larger increases in salaries would cost even more jobs and hit patient care.

She claimed that each half per cent rise in the pay bill would endanger the future of 3,300 extra nurses, 1,200 doctors or 51,000 operations.

And she told doctors and nurses that they have had pay rises worth between 35 and 50 per cent over the past four or five years when headline raises are combined with new contracts and people rising through the pay scales.

But junior nurses in the lowest pay band are still expected to live on between just £11,700 and £12,800. Qualified midwives earn between £18,200 and £25,200.

Miss Hewitt's submission came after the Treasury said that pay rises in the NHS should be capped at 2 per cent - even though the Health Service is getting an 8 per cent cash injection this year.

Karen Jennings, the union's head of health, said: 'It is outrageous to suggest that, unless staff take what is effectively a pay cut, jobs will go and patients will suffer. This is completely unnecessary when the Treasury has pledged an 8per cent increase in the NHS budget for next year.

'A 1.5per cent pay increase works out at less than 2p an hour extra for newly qualified nurses and paramedics, with only pennies extra for experienced health workers. It is also less that half the latest retail price index figure which stands at 3.6per cent.

'We are all paying more for basic necessities such as food, fuel and housing than this time last year, and health workers would be significantly worse off if they get a measly 1.5 per cent.

'I don't like the threatening tone of the DoH evidence. It is outrageous to suggest that unless staff take what is effectively a pay cut, jobs will go and patients will suffer.'

Unison last night warned that heavy handed pressure from ministers is in danger of undermining what is supposed to be an independent process and accused Miss Hewitt of 'threatening' them with further job cuts unless they accept their terms.

A Unison spokeswoman denied that strikes are imminent. 'We are nowhere near that yet,' she said, adding: 'We are very concerned to keep the independence of the Pay Review Body. What we can't have is the Treasury and the Department of Health issuing instructions to them.'

A source in another union said: 'Strikes will be the only option if the pay review body refuses to listen to our concerns.'

Fourteen health unions are now due to submit their proposals for health service pay rises before the Pay Review Body makes it's decision on the final payout at the end of November.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said: 'All staff groups have benefited from the improved pay and conditions that our pay reforms have brought. The NHS is facing a challenging financial period with the need to change a deficit into lasting financial balance. It is clear that a period of pay restraint is necessary to support the NHS in achieving that lasting balance.

'Pay uplifts must be affordable otherwise funding for patient services will suffer. If pay levels are too high, NHS employers may well need to reduce staff posts.'